In the era of standardized commodities, a particular type of organization became the dominant type of business firm in the economy. This was the large multi-divisional, hierarchical corporation that excelled at producing large quantities of standardized items with great efficiency. However, we continue to rely on this same type of organization to produce destandardized goods and services in a habitation economy even though other organizational models are actually better at producing destandardized goods and services. Since these organizations have very deep pockets and considerable influence in the political system, they have been able to continue their dominance despite the fact that other types of organization might be more effective and more efficient. Their continuing dominance is one of the key reasons why we are not able to have the kind of habitation that most of us would like to have.

The concept of monoculture that comes from farming provides a useful analogy. Critics of industrial-style agriculture employ the term to describe what happens when large areas of land are shifted from cultivating multiple types of vegetation to focusing on a single crop or one particular type of livestock. For farming organizations, monoculture often seems like an obvious and efficient choice since it allows for the optimal use of both farm machinery and land. Monoculture is basically the application of the assembly line to agricultural production to reduce the cost of production of each unit of output.

Critics point out, however, that the cost–benefit supporting monoculture is often misleading. Vast expanses of the same crop are an invitation to the rapid proliferation of pests and disease that specialize in that particular crop or species of animal. Furthermore, monoculture tends to deplete the soil of key nutrients requiring ever larger outlays for fertilizer which, in turn, has negative environmental consequences. Concentrated animal feeding operations such as giant pig farms produce huge lagoons of animal waste that can seep into the ground water and produce noxious odors for miles around. In sum, monoculture might be profitable in the short term, but it can be unsustainable and inefficient over the longer term.